UNIT – I (Prose)
1. The Refugee
- K. A. Abbas
Introduction
K.A. Abbas is a well known
Indian journalist, film director and writer. ‘The Refugee’ is one of his famous
short stories. Through the life of Maanji, the author narrates the suffering of
people uprooted from home and family during the Partition of India and Pakistan
in 1947.
Maanji at Rawalpindi
Maanji and her husband were Sikhs. They lived in a two stored house in Rawalpindi which is now in
Pakistan. She and her husband led a happy life. Their only son lived in Bombay.
But the old couple never wished to leave Raalpindi. They had some lands and
also got rent by letting out the shops in the building. Most of her tenants
were Muslims. They had many Muslim friends too. Maanji was a kind; old lady.
She owned a buffalo which gave more than ten seers of milk every day. She used
the milk to make curd everyday. After stirring out the butter she would
distribute fresh buttermilk to all her neighbours.
Partition
of India & Pakistan
Maanji knew about the
partition of India and Pakistan from the newspapers. But it did not trouble
her. She thought politics was not for ordinary people like her. There were
violent communal cashes. Many Hindu and Sikh families left Rawalpindi. Maanji
thought it would all settle down soon. She did not want to leave Rawalpindi.
Refugees came to Rawalpindi from East Punjab. She never thought of her Muslim
neighbours as her enemy. Instead she donated food, clothes and blankets to the
Muslim refugees who came from India.
Maanji’s
Faith
Then an incident
happened that shattered Maanji’s faith. She was shocked to see a Hindu tonga-wallah
stabbed to death in front of her house by a Muslim mob. Muslims killed even the
horse that had neither religion nor caste. Maanji knew that the madness had
gone too far. She and her husband left Rawalpindi and came to Bombay as
refugees.
Maanji’s Life as a Refugee
In Bombay the old
couple lived in a single room tenement with their son. She had no servants and
had to cook and clean all by herself. She suffered from asthma. Yet she
maintained a neat house and served food to all who visited her house. She never
complained and nobody could know that she was a refugee who had lost and
suffered so much in life. She remembered her old Muslim neighbors with
affection. Sometimes memories of her life in Rawlpindi brought tears to her
eyes.
Conclusion
‘The Refugee’ is a
moving and thought provoking story. It tells us how communal hatred and
violence can affect the lives of innocent people.
2. The
Lion and the Lamb
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2. The
Lion and the Lamb
- Leonard Clarke
Introduction:
Leonard Clarke(1905-1981)
is a well-known English poet, biographer and anthologist. His ‘The Lion and the
Lamb’ is a humorous short story about a lion called Conqueror. Described as the
fiercest lion in captivity, its escape creates a sensation and rumors. Finally
the lion was discovered in the drawing room of Mr. Lamb, the Vicar.
Escape of the Lion, the Conqueror:
The Bostock and Wombwell is a animal
circus company. They used to go to the villages to show the rare animals that
are not seen in England. There was a lot of advertising. The lion was described
as the “fiercest lion in captivity”. It was dark by the time the men and
animals were carried to the village called Little Dean . The weather was bad.
It was snowing heavily. The roads were covered with slippery ice. One of the
horses slipped and the wagon it was pulling toppled. The door was thrown open
and the lion escaped.
Spread
of Rumours:
The Milkman was the first person
to talk about the Lion’s escape. He proudly declared that he saw the Lion’s
track on his way to work in the morning. The news of the Lion’s escape spread
far and wide and there were many versions. Mrs. Whittle reported that six lions
had escaped and they ate a whole lamb. Williams the Coalman said that the lion
ate a baby and he saw a stained shawl. Fortunately the rumours turned out to be
false. There was a rumour that soldiers were marching towards Forest of Dean
with guns but finally no soldier arrived.
Miss Roll was a thin
and gentle lady but a true Christian. She feels sorry for the lion which could have
nothing to eat to death in the cold weather. She suggested that as a noble act
people should leave out some food for the lion. The town crier announced that
the reward of five pounds would be given to anyone giving information about the
lion. The circus was opened to the public and it went on with all the animals
except the lion. At the sweet shop Miss. Boud suspected that it was only and
advertisement stunt by the circus company to attract crowds.
Discovery of the Conqueror:
On
the second day the Vicar of the village saw the lion in his drawing room
sitting near the fire place. The Lion was not at all fierce. The Vicar fed it
with pork and then informed the police. Without any difficulty, the Lion was
caught in the cage.
Humour: The Vicar’s name was Reverend
Lamb. So everybody joked that the Lion was found lying with the Lamb.
Conclusion:
‘The Lion and the Lamb’
is a very humours and interesting short story. It tells us about how
advertisements are misleading. A gentle and old lion was advertised as the fiercest
lion in captivity. It also tells us about how rumours are spread.
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3. The Lady or The Tiger?
-Frank R. Stockton
Introduction
F.R. Stockton was a
well-known American writer. He began his career by writing stories for
children. He got recognition as a short story writer after the publication of
his story, The Lady or the Tiger?.
This story is about a semi-barbaric king, who tried to reform and refines his
subjects using creative ideas.
The
King’s Cruel Punishment
The Lady
or the Tiger
begins with a description of a semi-barbaric king. He was an authoritative
ruler. He ruled his kingdom with a heavy hand. He had a creative idea for
punishing the wrong doers. He built an arena. On one end of the arena there are
two doors. On the day of the trial everybody would gather in the arena. In their
presence the criminal will be asked to choose his own fate by selecting one of
the two closed doors. Behind one door was a hungry tiger that would eat the
prisoner alive. Behind the other door was a beautiful lady, hand-picked by the
king, who would be married to the accused on the spot. The people of the
kingdom likes this system of justice, because the accused decides his own fate.
Moreover the uncertainty of the situation is very entertaining.
King’s Daughter in Love
The king had a
beautiful daughter whom he adored. She secretly loved a young man who was a commoner.
When the king discovered her love affair, he became very angry. He put the
young man in prison to await his trial. For a commoner to love the king’s
daughter was a crime, so the king searched for the most ferocious tiger and the
most attractive lady for the young man’s trial in the arena.
The Day
of the Trial
The day of the young
man’s trial came. He walked into the arena, his eyes being fixed on the
princess. He looked to her for guidance, because he suspected that she knew
which door hid the lady, and which the tiger. Indeed, the princess did know the
identity of the young lady behind the door. She had been jealous of her for
some time, thinking that she would steal her lover from her. The princess signaled
for him to choose the right-hand door, without hesitation. He moved to open the
right-hand door.
Suspense
by the Author
The author does not
reveal what was behind that door; he leaves the readers to come to their own
answer. We do not know whether the princess was kin-hatred and allowed her
lover to marry another woman or being jealous she allowed him to be killed by
the tiger.
Conclusion
As the narrator of the
story explains, the answer involves a study of the human heart. It is very
difficult to understand a human heart - especially a woman’s heart.
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4. The Sky is the Limit!
– Kalpana Chawla
Introduction
Kalpana
Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and the first
female of Indian origin to go to space. She first flew on the Space Shuttle
Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist. In 2003, Chawla was one of the seven
crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the aircraft
disintegrated during its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
Early Life & Studies
Chawla
was born on 1 July 1961 in Karnal, Punjab, India. As a child, Kalpana liked to
draw pictures of airplanes.After getting a Bachelor of Engineering degree in
Aeronautical Engineering from Punjab Engineering College, India, she moved to
the United States in 1982 and obtained a Master of Science degree in Aerospace
Engineering from the University of Texas in 1984. Chawla went on to earn a
second Masters in 1986 and a PhD in aerospace engineering in 1988 from the
University of Colorado.
Kalpana Chawla’s Career
In
1988, she began working at NASA, where she did computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) research. Chawla held a Certificated Flight Instructor rating for
airplanes, gliders and Commercial Pilot licenses for single and multi-engine
airplanes, seaplanes and gliders. After becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in
April 1991, Chawla applied for the NASA Astronaut Corps. She was selected for
her first flight in 1996.
First Space Mission
Her
first space mission began on November 17, 1997, as part of the six-astronaut
crew that flew the Space Shuttle Columbia flight STS-87. Chawla was the first
Indian woman to fly in space. On her first mission, Chawla traveled over 10.4
million miles (16737177.6 km) in 252 orbits of the earth, logging more than 372
hours (15 Days and 12 Hours) in space. After the completion of STS-87
post-flight activities, Chawla was assigned to technical positions in the
astronaut office to work on the space station.
Second Space Mission
In
2000, Chawla was selected for her second flight as part of the crew of STS-107.
The crew performed nearly 80 experiments studying earth and space science,
advanced technology development, health and safety. Chawla died in the Space Shuttle Columbia
disaster which occurred on February 1, 2003, she was killed, along with the
other six crew members, when the Columbia disintegrated over Texas during
re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, shortly before it was scheduled to
conclude its 28th mission, STS-107.
Conclusion
Kalpana
Chawla is a great inspiration for Indian women who are yearning to achieve
greater goals in life.
